Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park

Driving

by Plot Along: Rockies

US Highway 34 across Rocky Mountain National Park. The highest continuous paved road in the United States. It peaks above 12,000 feet at the Gore Range Overlook.

Trail Ridge Road runs 48 miles between the east entrance at Estes Park and the west gateway at Grand Lake. It climbs through ponderosa forest, subalpine meadows, and exposed alpine tundra. It crosses the Continental Divide at Milner Pass and descends toward the headwaters of the Colorado River.

The road is open seasonally. Typical season runs from late May through mid October. The road closes for snow the rest of the year.

Learn more: nps.gov

Beaver Meadows Visitors Center
The park's main visitor center on the Estes Park side, a Frank Lloyd Wright-school design from 1967 and a National Historic Landmark in its own right.
Many Parks Curve
Curve in the road that overlooks several glacier-carved meadow valleys ("parks" in old Colorado usage). Beaver Meadows, Moraine Park, and Horseshoe Park are all visible from one pullout.
Forest Canyon Overlook
View 2,500 ft down into Forest Canyon, the deep U-shaped valley carved by the largest glacier in the park during the last ice age.
Rock Cut
Section where the road was blasted through an alpine ridge in the 1930s. Pullout with views of the Mummy Range and a short paved interpretive trail through fragile tundra.
Iceberg Pass
Small alpine pass at 11,827 ft, named for a permanent snowfield near the road. Sweeping views across the tundra in both directions.
Lava Cliffs
Cliffs of welded volcanic tuff from a 28-million-year-old eruption, with a view across an alpine bowl that often holds snow into August.
Gore Range Overlook
The highest point on Trail Ridge Road at 12,183 ft. On a clear day you can see the Gore Range 70 miles to the west.
Alpine Visitor Center
The highest-elevation visitor center in the National Park system at 11,796 ft. Restrooms, cafe, and a short trail up to a tundra overlook.
Medicine Bow Curve
Overlook north toward the Medicine Bow Mountains across the state line in Wyoming, the route's furthest-distance view.
Milner Pass
Where Trail Ridge Road crosses the Continental Divide at 10,759 ft. A small lake (Poudre Lake) sits right at the divide.
Farview Curve Overlook
Last big west-side overlook before the road drops into the Kawuneeche Valley, with views of the headwaters of the Colorado River, which begins right below.
Kawuneeche Visitor Center
The park's west-side visitor center at Grand Lake, quieter and smaller-scale than the Estes Park side.

Beaver Meadows Visitors Center

Many Parks Curve

Forest Canyon Overlook

Rock Cut

Iceberg Pass

Lava Cliffs

Gore Range Overlook

Alpine Visitor Center

Medicine Bow Curve

Milner Pass

Farview Curve Overlook

Kawuneeche Visitor Center